William L. Ridley
I won’t lie, but each time I see an orange Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. truck driving by, it means someone is getting rescued. And after all our past freeze-outs, these rescuers are still underappreciated. After a recent storm, a fallen tree limb was ready to pull down all my utility lines (and my neighbor’s). I called OG&E; they came out that same morning, backed up into my alleyway, and started cutting it down piece by piece, carrying off the last chunk in the bucket lift. It saved at least a month’s rent paying the tree service.
After finishing up, I talked to the “Wichita Lineman.” I told him that I was planning to build a solar carport, so I asked him, jokingly, “Does that make us enemies?” He just laughed and said, “No, OG&E is fine with everyone going solar. Put in as many panels as you want, keep all the power you need and sell back all the rest … It saves buying all that natural gas.”
OK, so what’s the holdup? Why isn’t solar taking off any faster? His response: “That’s easy; solar is still waaay too expensive, it’s too hard to get hail insurance and it doesn’t provide much power … nobody can break even.”
He went on to say, “The real problem is … solar is too spotty … and the grid needs it in megawatts.”
The good news is that “smart” technology already does this. First, it stores all the solar energy in home batteries (and EVs) and then sends it out automatically to the grid, panel by panel, house by house, neighborhood by neighborhood, etc., until everything is backed up in huge mega-batteries ― with a constant power supply and enough megawatts to balance the grid 24/7, without needing natural gas.
More:Why we all need to commit to action for environmental efforts to succeed
Food for thought: An average Norman solar household can save about $1,500 a year in energy bills. But 50,000 households can save about $75 million, which goes back directly into the economy. But right now, homeowners are stuck paying all the costs, taking all the risks and doing all the maintenance ― and they still can’t break even. They need a helping hand.
Smart technology is already in place, and the public interest is there. The problem is simple economics. It’s just a matter of making it cheaper and faster switching to solar.
“No branch can bear fruit by itself; to be bountiful, it must remain in the vine.” John 15:4 (NIV)
William L. Ridley earned his Ph.D. in Planning, Design and Construction from the University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture. Currently, he is a freelance PDC consultant specializing in affordable housing solutions.
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